Soon, Chu Chengzhou completely suppressed the trace of killing intent that had risen in his heart.
The Spirit Hall was too powerful—far beyond what he could handle at this stage. Salas was a high-ranking member of the Spirit Hall, and if he were to kill him, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the Spirit Hall. Even though he suspected Salas had sent the assassins, for now, he could only pretend to remain ignorant.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou's eyes darted about as he said, "Dai Mubai, we've had our differences in the past, and you're a prince of the Star Luo Empire. Naturally, you'd defend them. Now that Salas is here, don't go slandering the Spirit Hall!"
Tonight's incident needed someone to take the blame. Since the true culprit—the Spirit Hall—was untouchable, the blame would have to fall on their inevitable enemy, the Star Luo Empire.
"Hmm? You're a prince of the Star Luo Empire?"
At once, Salas perked up with interest.
This young man was a prince of the Star Luo Empire and had a grudge with Chu Chengzhou?
This… was excellent!
A grudge meant motive, and with both capability and motive, combined with Cang Xiong's dying words pinning the blame on the Star Luo Empire, why not solidify this accusation against them right now?
The Star Luo Empire wasn't exactly virtuous—they were an obstacle to the Spirit Hall's unification of the continent and the peace they claimed to bring to the masses. Such an "evil" force committing the assassination of a talented soul master from an opposing nation wasn't impossible!
Moreover, compared to the notion of the Spirit Hall being behind it, wouldn't the Tian Dou Empire and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect prefer to believe the culprits were from the Star Luo Empire?
After all, a mere Chu Chengzhou wasn't worth the Tian Dou Empire or the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect going to war with the powerful Spirit Hall. As for the Star Luo Empire, the two empires were already natural enemies with deep-seated grievances. Even if they suspected the Star Luo Empire wasn't responsible, pinning another black mark on them wouldn't hurt.
At this moment, seeing that Salas had arrived, Liu Erlong, whose student dormitory building had collapsed and who had lost several students, set aside her grief and approached.
"Director Liu, you've come just in time. Do you know the identity of this person?"
Salas pointed at Dai Mubai and asked Liu Erlong.
"Salas, I know that Mubai is a prince of the Star Luo Empire.
However, he's merely an ordinary prince of the Star Luo Empire, incapable of commanding a Soul Douluo and two Soul Sages. I believe this conspiracy by the Star Luo Empire likely has nothing to do with him!"
Liu Erlong stated without hesitation.
Flender had long informed her about Dai Mubai. In Liu Erlong's view, Dai Mubai, who had given up competing for the throne of the Star Luo Empire, lacked the ability to command such powerful assassins. Moreover, the likelihood of the assassins coming from the Spirit Hall was greater than from the Star Luo Empire.
However… Several of her students had died, and the dormitory building had been reduced to rubble. Such significant losses required someone to foot the bill.
Without solid evidence pointing to the Spirit Hall, they certainly wouldn't compensate for her losses. And since the assassins' dying words blamed the Star Luo Empire, there was no choice but to pin this black pot on them.
"Mm, Director Liu makes a good point. Everything points to a conspiracy by the Star Luo Empire!"
Hearing this, Salas nodded in satisfaction.
Liu Erlong's words undoubtedly absolved Dai Mubai, but Salas didn't care. A mere prince of the Star Luo Empire wasn't worth his attention—as long as the blame fell on the Star Luo Empire, that was all that mattered.
"Director Liu, rest assured. This incident occurred during the Soul Master Tournament, and the Star Luo Empire dared to assassinate an outstanding participant. As a member of the organizing committee, I cannot stand idly by. I will report this matter to His Holiness the Pope, and the Spirit Hall will seek justice for Lan Ba Academy!"
Salas solemnly promised Liu Erlong.
'What a guy! No wonder he's a Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall!'
Seeing Salas cry wolf, Chu Chengzhou's eyelids twitched involuntarily.
Indeed, the Spirit Hall had no shortage of Soul Douluos. For a support-type soul master like Salas to rise to become one of the four Platinum Bishops and concurrently serve as the Master of the Tian Dou Spirit Hall, it wasn't without reason.
"Thank you, Salas!"
Though inwardly annoyed, Liu Erlong still expressed her gratitude.
With the backing of the Spirit Hall, seeking compensation from the Star Luo Empire was virtually guaranteed. Otherwise, relying solely on Lan Ba Academy or the Tian Dou Empire, regardless of whether the Star Luo Empire was truly responsible, they would simply ignore the matter.
Not long after, a luxurious carriage escorted by dozens of Tian Dou Royal Knights entered Lan Ba Academy.
The representative of the royal family, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, dispatched by Emperor Xue Ye, had arrived.
"Brother, I heard you were attacked by assassins from the Star Luo Empire. Are you alright?"
Xue Qianhe, his newly acquainted "good older brother," Qian Renxue, asked with concern.
"Brother Xue, thanks to the academy director and others holding off the assassins at great risk, and the timely arrival of the royal advisors, I'm unharmed. Unfortunately, several classmates were killed, and the academy's dormitory building collapsed."
Chu Chengzhou shook his head sorrowfully.
His sorrow wasn't feigned. After all, they were fellow students of the same academy. Though they weren't particularly close, the fact that they had lost their lives because of him made him genuinely regretful.
"Hmph, the Star Luo Empire is growing increasingly brazen! How dare they commit such atrocities in Tian Dou City and even attempt to assassinate my dear brother.
Brother, rest assured. Father is deeply displeased by this vile act. The empire will seek justice for you and Lan Ba Academy!"
Qian Renxue consoled him.
Though she suspected the Spirit Hall might be behind it—after all, she was familiar with Salas's character—she was the heir to the Spirit Hall. She couldn't afford to side with the wrong faction, so the blame naturally had to fall on the Star Luo Empire.
"Thank you, Brother Qinghe!"
Chu Chengzhou's face was full of gratitude, though inwardly, he was thinking about making this little vixen kneel and sing in the future.
Perhaps this matter had nothing to do with Qian Renxue, and it was most likely Salas acting on his own. But as the heir to the Spirit Hall, not holding her accountable for some interest would be unacceptable.
Subsequently, Qian Renxue approached Liu Erlong, representing the royal family to express concern and condolences to Lan Ba Academy, promising to seek justice on their behalf and so on.
More than an hour later, after thoroughly understanding the events and the academy's losses, Salas and Qian Renxue didn't linger and left Lan Ba Academy.
"Little Chu, here, this is your spoils of war."
After both parties had left the academy, Flender handed Chu Chengzhou a right arm soul bone glowing faintly blue.
Upon seeing this right arm soul bone, Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow.
"This dropped from the Ice Sparrow Soul Sage you killed."
Flender explained.
"Director Flender, give this soul bone to Director Liu. Tonight's losses for the academy are significant."
After some thought, Chu Chengzhou shook his head.
This ice-attribute right arm soul bone appeared to be less than ten thousand years old and only covered the forearm, incomplete in form. He looked down on it.
A soul bone less than ten thousand years old wouldn't provide much benefit after refinement.
Though he could upgrade soul bones passively, he didn't need to worry about low-year soul bones limiting him. However, soul skills with uncertain effects on mediocre soul bones weren't worth wasting precious passive slots on.
Upgrading soul rings didn't increase his soul power, so presumably, upgrading soul bones would be the same.
Even with his cheat system, the base year of a soul bone remained crucial. Higher-year soul bones contained more energy, resulting in greater soul power boosts upon refinement.
Unless the soul skill effect was exceptional, rather than wasting time on mediocre soul bones, he'd rather hunt ferocious sea soul beasts when he became stronger and assemble a set of top-tier soul bones.
While hundred-thousand-year soul beasts and ferocious beasts were rare on the continent, the vast oceans were different.
Though the Great Star Dou Forest was known as the paradise of soul beasts, in Chu Chengzhou's view, the oceans—with their larger living spaces and fewer soul masters hunting there—were the true paradise.
Even the Great Star Dou Forest's area was comparable to the Balak Kingdom, while the vast oceans far exceeded the entire Douluo Continent.
Of course, apart from looking down on this soul bone, Chu Chengzhou also felt uneasy accepting it.
The assassins' target was himself. Several classmates had died, and the academy's dormitory building had collapsed. If he ended up profiting from this, it would be hard to justify.
"That works."
After hesitating briefly, Flender nodded.
Tonight's incident caused the greatest loss to Liu Erlong, the academy director, besides the deceased students.
If this soul bone were sold, it would more than cover the academy's financial losses, even exceeding them significantly.
The collapsed building was just an ordinary dormitory, not the costly simulated training field. A thousand-year-old soul bone's selling price far exceeded the cost of constructing a dormitory.
After collecting the bodies of the deceased students, Liu Erlong and the others tallied the student count, confirmed the list of victims, and began instructing everyone to set up tents on the playground.
With the dormitory building destroyed, most students had nowhere to sleep. They had to make do with tents for the time being.
It was worth noting that Ma Hongjun and Oscar were particularly enthusiastic in helping students without dormitories set up tents, even more so than the students themselves.
Why were these two young men so eager?
It was the dead of night, and the students had been sleeping when the incident occurred. In the sudden evacuation, most students were in disarray, with some female students rushing out of the dormitory wearing only their undergarments.
And since only a few students had storage-type soul tools, the two young men naturally offered to help the pretty, well-proportioned female students.
With collective effort, the students' lodging issue was resolved. Those living in the teacher's dormitory returned to their respective rooms since there was a match tomorrow.
"Huh? Xiao Wu, aren't you going back to sleep?"
At the dormitory entrance, seeing Xiao Wu following closely behind him, Chu Chengzhou, who was about to enter and rest, asked in surprise.
"Get inside!"
Xiao Wu didn't answer Chu Chengzhou's question but pointed at his dormitory door and said coldly.
Seeing this, Chu Chengzhou immediately sensed something ominous.
Bracing himself, he opened the door and pulled Xiao Wu into the dormitory.
Bang—
The door slammed shut.
"Uh, Xiao Wu, what do you plan to do?"
Looking at Xiao Wu's unfriendly expression, Chu Chengzhou timidly asked.
"Hmph! Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and face severe consequences. Young Master Chu, explain truthfully—why were you with Rongrong earlier?"
Hands on her hips, Xiao Wu pointed at Chu Chengzhou and questioned him bluntly.
Earlier, out of consideration for Chu Chengzhou and her close friend, Xiao Wu hadn't asked in front of others. But now, alone with him, she didn't hold back.
Sure enough, his ominous premonition came true!
"Xiao Wu, would you believe me if I said Rongrong and I are innocent?"
After hesitating for a moment, Chu Chengzhou tried to evade the question.
"Innocent? I'll believe that when pigs fly! Tell me, when did you and Rongrong get together?"
Chu Chengzhou: "..."
"Not talking, huh? Fine, let me guess. Did you two secretly start seeing each other back at Shrek Academy? No wonder I saw Rongrong running back to the room with flushed cheeks—is that when you two did that in VR?"
At this moment, Xiao Wu's mouth was like a machine gun, spitting out facts that left Chu Chengzhou unable to argue.
From the beginning, Xiao Wu had noticed something fishy between the two. However, after checking, she found that her close friend Ning Rongrong was still a pure maiden, so she dismissed the idea.
But after seeing Chu Chengzhou with Ning Rongrong earlier, she changed her mind.
Her dormitory was closer to Chu Chengzhou's than Ning Rongrong's.
Upon noticing the commotion outside, she was the first to rush out fully dressed.
Ning Rongrong's reaction speed definitely wasn't as fast as hers, yet she was already present much earlier. Clearly, the two had been together before.
A young man and woman alone at night—what scandalous deeds they must have done goes without saying.
As for Ning Rongrong still being a pure maiden? Xiao Wu wasn't unfamiliar with Chu Chengzhou's virtual reality.
Perhaps Ning Rongrong's body was still pure for now, but her soul had surely taken the shape of someone else!
Realizing her home had been invaded, Xiao Wu was furious.
"Well... uh..."
Opening his mouth, Chu Chengzhou struggled to find a plausible excuse.
"Hmph, speak! What are you going to do about this?"
Snorting coldly, Xiao Wu barked.
'What am I going to do? Of course, we'll do it together!'
But Chu Chengzhou didn't dare say that out loud.
Suddenly, an idea struck Chu Chengzhou. He activated his illusion technique, pulling Xiao Wu's consciousness into VR.
Happiness could make one forget unpleasant things.
Initially, Xiao Wu resisted angrily, but soon, she selectively forgot her grievances and immersed herself in the joy.
In VR, as Chu Chengzhou enjoyed himself with Xiao Wu, he suddenly heard a knock on the door from the real world.
Spreading his mental energy, Chu Chengzhou realized dawn had broken unnoticed, and Ning Rongrong was knocking on the door.
Immediately, Chu Chengzhou exited VR with Xiao Wu.
"Senior Chu, Director Liu sent me to fetch you. We have a match this morning!"
Ning Rongrong called through the door.
"I'll be right there!"
Chu Chengzhou replied.
"Rongrong?"
Hearing her close friend's voice outside, Xiao Wu felt a pang of jealousy. Furrowing her brows, she bit down hard on Chu Chengzhou's arm.
"Hiss~"
Chu Chengzhou sucked in a breath, contributing a tiny bit to global warming.
"Xiao Wu, I love you. Can you let go?"
Chu Chengzhou tried to evade responsibility.
"Hmph, you playboy! Are you thinking about Rongrong in your heart right now?"
Releasing Chu Chengzhou's arm, Xiao Wu scolded him mercilessly.
"Cough, well... um, Xiao Wu, you're the eldest sister. You should set an example."
Chu Chengzhou spoke earnestly.
"Go die!"
Enraged, Xiao Wu delivered a right hook aimed at Chu Chengzhou's left eye socket.
Boom—
Ah—
Hearing the sound of impact and a scream from inside the room, Ning Rongrong outside was baffled.
On the second floor of the academy cafeteria, Liu Erlong and the members of the Lan Ba Academy team were having breakfast.
Fortunately, the academy cafeteria hadn't been affected by Cang Xiong's self-destruction last night. Otherwise, the Lan Ba Academy students wouldn't just lack a place to sleep—they'd also lose a place to eat.
"Huh? Boss Chu, what happened to your eye?"
Ma Hongjun, engrossed in eating a large meat bun, suddenly noticed Chu Chengzhou's left eye was badly swollen and asked in surprise.
"I accidentally tripped."
Putting down his half-finished bowl of fragrant meat porridge, Chu Chengzhou glanced at Xiao Wu, who acted nonchalant, and Ning Rongrong, who was secretly giggling, and responded expressionlessly.
"Accidentally tripped?"
Ma Hongjun was stunned, then exchanged glances with Oscar beside him.
Could someone accidentally trip and end up with such a swollen eye? Surely he was beaten up, right?
Otherwise, with Xiao Qing around, such a minor injury could've been healed in minutes.
"Got a problem with that?"
Chu Chengzhou shot a glance at Ma Hongjun.
"Uh, no, no, no."
Ma Hongjun quickly waved his hands.
Even if he had an opinion, he'd have to swallow it. As a measly Soul Elder, he couldn't possibly offend someone who could kill Soul Sages with arrows.
"Xiao Wu, why did you hit Senior Chu?"
Zhu Zhuqing quietly asked Xiao Wu.
Who else but Xiao Wu, his girlfriend, would dare hit Chu Chengzhou and leave him untreated afterward?
"Ask him yourself! Rongrong, serious face! What are you laughing at? I haven't settled accounts with you yet!"
Seeing her close friend Ning Rongrong stifling laughter, Xiao Wu was infuriated.
How dare you betray me by sneaking around behind my back?
"My dear Xiao Wu, we're sisters for life. Here, this is my gift to you!"
Ning Rongrong stuck out her tongue, acting cute, and offered her glass of milk to Xiao Wu.
"Hmph, I'll deal with you later!"
Snorting coldly, Xiao Wu glared at her close friend.
"Good sister, don't~ It's my fault. Let me massage your shoulders."
With that, Ning Rongrong stood up and went behind Xiao Wu, diligently massaging her shoulders.
Xiao Wu: "..."
Unsolicited kindness often hides ulterior motives!
Seeing this, Zhu Zhuqing pondered thoughtfully.
After breakfast, the group headed to the Great Spirit Arena.
Before entering, Chu Chengzhou spotted Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin standing at the entrance.
"Dad, Sword Grandpa!"
Seeing her father and Sword Grandpa, Ning Rongrong happily ran up to them.
"Little girl, were you scared last night?"
Chen Xin ruffled his precious daughter's hair.
"Mm-hmm, those assassins from the Star Luo Empire were despicable!"
Mentioning this, Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth in anger.
"You're all safe, that's what matters. Director Liu, the match is about to start. Go ahead and enter. Little Chu, come with me."
Ning Fengzhi addressed the group.
Last night, when the assassins attacked Lan Ba Academy, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, not far from Tian Dou City, was well aware. After all, the guards Ning Fengzhi arranged outside the academy weren't just the two six-ring Soul Emperors.
Upon receiving the news, Ning Fengzhi panicked. After all, he only had one daughter.
Just as he was about to head to Lan Ba Academy with Chen Xin, another guard reported that the assassins had been dealt with, and both Ning Rongrong and Chu Chengzhou, the target, were safe. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
It was late last night, and both were unharmed, so he didn't rush over to Lan Ba Academy.
Nodding, Liu Erlong led the group into the Great Spirit Arena.
Meanwhile, Chu Chengzhou followed Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin to a teahouse not far from the arena.
They secured a private room, and after dismissing the waiter, Ning Fengzhi instructed Chen Xin to erect a layer of soul power barrier to ensure no fourth party could overhear their conversation.
"Little Chu, what do you think about last night's incident?"
"It's simple—someone couldn't tolerate my success, specifically my closeness with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and sought to eliminate me covertly."
Chu Chengzhou spoke calmly.
"And who do you think the mastermind is?"
Ning Fengzhi nodded slightly and continued.
"Salas of the Tian Dou Spirit Hall."
"Oh? Not the Star Luo Empire?"
Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow, surprised.
He wasn't surprised that the assassins weren't from the Star Luo Empire but that Chu Chengzhou had realized they were from the Spirit Hall.
Chu Chengzhou explained directly, "I've had conflicts with a Soul Douluo and Crown Prince Dai Weisi of the Star Luo Empire, and I don't get along with Dai Mubai. If they wanted to target me, they would've done so long ago.
Moreover, Dai Mubai knows my strength level, but the three assassins clearly didn't—they showed no caution toward me.
Coincidentally, I displayed some of my abilities on the tournament stage yesterday morning, and I was targeted last night. This basically rules out the Star Luo Empire.
Once we rule them out, the only remaining suspect is the Spirit Hall. Given the tight timeline, the mastermind can only be Salas."
"Not bad. Seems like you've got some brains!"
Ning Fengzhi nodded in satisfaction.
He had sought out Chu Chengzhou to remind him that the true culprit was likely the Spirit Hall, not the Star Luo Empire. However, he hadn't expected the young man's sharp mind—he had figured it out without needing a hint.
"Unfortunately... the culprit can only be the Star Luo Empire!"
Chu Chengzhou sighed.
Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi was even more pleased.
This young man was not only talented but also clear-headed. Truly worthy of being his chosen future son-in-law!
Setting aside other matters, with this "blissful ignorance," Ning Fengzhi needn't worry about Chu Chengzhou being manipulated in the future.
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